1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to photography and, more particularly, to automatic, user-actuated photostudies for taking self-portraits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic photostudios or photobooths which are actuable by a user for taking self-portraits are well known in the prior art. Generally such a unit comprises a housing that is divided into a studio compartment where the user sits and an apparatus compartment housing a camera and film handling and processing equipment. Upon actuating the studio by inserting a coin, bill or token into a receiving mechanism, or by other means such as actuating a button or switch, the camera operates to expose a film unit therein and then the exposed film unit is automatically processed and made available to the user in a relatively short period of time.
Some automatic photostudios are configured to use conventional film and traditional wet chemical treatment for film development. The present invention, however, relates to photostudios that use film units of the self-developing type which are supplied in film cassettes. More specifically, the present invention is directed to apparatus for handling or changing cassettes that hold a limited number (i.e., 8 or 10) of film units therein in stacked relation.
In such photostudios, a full cassette is brought into operative relation with the camera to locate the forwardmost film unit in the stack in position for exposure. Subsequent to exposure, the film unit is advanced through a withdrawal slot, at one end of the cassette, and between a pair of pressure-applying rollers for distributing a fluid processing composition between predetermined layers of the film unit.
When "peel apart", self-developing film units are employed, the film unit is held for the required imbibition period and then the negative and positive elements are separated. The positive print is made available to the customer and the negative is deposited in a disposal bin. On the other hand, "integral" or non peel-apart self-developing film units may be advanced directly from the processing mechanism to the user since these film units generally include a self-contained opacification system that allows the development process to be carried out in ambient light.
Generally, a film counting mechanism is employed to count the film exposures and provide a signal when the last film unit has been exposed and withdrawn from the cassette. In response to the signal, a cassette changing or transfer apparatus is actuated and it removes the empty cassette from its operative position in the camera and replaces it with a full cassette taken from a supply of cassettes stored in the apparatus compartment of the photostudio.
Examples of automatic photostudios having cassette transfer or changing apparatus may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,797,823, 3,744,389, and 3,744,390 issued to Charles William Clark. The first patent was issued on Mar. 19, 1974; the latter two on July 10, 1973. Also see U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,136 issued on June 25, 1974 to C. Bruce Kennedy and being assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
There are both similarities and differences in the above noted cassette changing apparatus. Both employ a camera having an open bottom, horizontally disposed, cassette locating chamber or frame. Next to the camera are one or more vertically disposed cassette storage magazines holding a vertical stack of cassettes therein. During a cassette changing cycle, the lowermost cassette in the stack is displaced laterally towards the open bottom cassette locating chamber or frame by a reciprocating mechanism.
In the Clark system, the stack of cassettes are held in the magazines by an inwardly protruding ledge which engages the underside of the lowermost cassette. The lowermost cassette is displaced from the ledge and drops onto a movable horizontally disposed plate behind a second cassette previously located on the plate. When the plate is displaced laterally toward the camera, the end thereof pushes a third cassette previously located on a guide frame into contact with an empty cassette located on a cassette carrier below the cassette locating frame of the camera. The third cassette displaces the empty cassette and takes its position on the carrier. The second cassette is moved into the position previously occupied by the third cassette, and likewise the first cassette occupies the previous position of the second. A new cassette from the magazine is then displaced from the ledge and drops down onto the plate and replaces the first cassette. The full cassette positioned under the camera frame is raised up into operative relation thereto by the carrier and is later lowered by the carrier after the cassette has been emptied for the next cassette changing cycle.
In the Kennedy system, the lowermost cassette in the magazine rests on a horizontal plate in line with a spring loaded tilting bed or cassette carrier under the open bottom cassette locating frame of the camera. When a cassette held in operative relationship to the camera is empty, the bed is tilted causing the empty cassette to fall into a disposal bin. A reciprocating mechanism then pushes the lowermost cassette from the stack onto the bed which moves it upwardly into its operative position in the locating frame. All of the cassettes in the vertical magazine then drop down one position under the influence of gravity.
Since automatic photostudios are intended to be serviced and maintained at infrequent intervals, it is imperative that such cassette changing mechanisms be as reliable as possible. It will be noted that both the Clark and Kennedy systems require sliding motion of the cassette to cause its transfer from the vertical magazine to the camera. There is vertical sliding motion of the cassette within the magazine followed by lateral sliding motion to a position directly under the cassette locating chamber or frame of the camera.
During the course of this sliding motion, there is always the possibility of a jam in the flow of the cassettes because of manufacturing variations in the cassettes or the manner in which they were loaded into the apparatus. The probability of a jam is also increased by the fact that the cassettes undergo intermediate transfers to reach the aligned position under the camera cassette locating frame. That is, they are first transferred from the magazine to a guide plate or surface and then are once again transferred to the aligned position.